Tapio Laukkanen leads Mini Classic Rally Day 1

Finland’s Tapio Laukkanen is the overnight leader of the Mini Classic Rally powered by Safaricom 4G+ after setting the quickest stage times in all three opening stages.

The former Kenya national rally champion led by over 2 minutes in dominant fashion setting the fastest times in all day 1 sections in his Porsche 911. Breathing hard down the Finn’s neck was Baldev Chager, who finished second in another 911.

Ian Duncan and Anthony Nielsen finished the day in third in a Ford Capri, breaking the dominance of Porsches. Raaji Bharij, the 2016 Nakuru Classic Rally winner, was fourth in yet another Porsche 911.

”I have not been driving well. I need to learn how to drive again since I have been quiet for a long time. We have a minor gearbox problem which we need to look at before we start again on Monday. It is not bad so far,” said Bharij.

Well known for his antics in the Autocross Championship, Hamza Anwar put in a good drive on Sunday in a Datsun 1600sss with his cousin, Shabaz Anwar as his navigator. The crew came in 13th.

Joey Ghose, who was formerly based in Kenya before moving to Oman, fought hard to make the top-10 with Harpal Singh in a Ford Escort MK1.